Device for setting golf balls and tees



Sept. 2, 1952 v. c. ARMSTRONG DEVICE FOR SETTING GOLF BALLS AND TEES Filed Aug. 28, 1949 INVENTOR.

ATTORN E Victor CArms -BY Patented Sept. 2, 1952 DEVICE FOR SETTIEI? G GOLF BALLS AND Victor 0. Armstrong, Short Hills, J. Application August 26, 1949, Serial No. 112,601

1 Claim.

golfer, by a single operation, properly to place a ball on a tee, ready for driving, without bending or stooping, thereby making it possible to accomplish this objective with the golfer standing in a substantially erect or fully erect position.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device which may be conveniently carried as a part of golfing equipment in a golfbag, along with clubs, so that it may be readily transported during the course of the game, and yet always be ready for use when the occasion demands that a ball be teed up before it is hit. In that connection, the invention contemplates a simple and practical construction which is easy to operate and which requires no special skill in use, thereby not burdening the golfer with undue attention to detail, and, at the same time, enabling the ball and tee to be properly set for driving by a single manipulation of the device.

With the above and other objects in view, which will more readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter more fully described, illustrated and claimed.

A preferred and practical embodiment is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a View illustrating the application and use of the invention;

Figure 2 is aside elevation, partly in section, of the device for setting the ball and tee;

Figure 3 is a detail view, partly in section, taken at right angles to Figure 2 and further illustrating the manner of using the invention;

Figure 4 is a detail perspective view of the housing at the foot of the shaft which supports the tee and also receives the ball to be mounted on the tee.

Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawing.

The device includes in its organization a support in the nature of a hollow shaft I, said shaft being suitably provided at its lower end with a foot member in the form of an enlarged housing 2 having a collar 2a at its upper end to be secured to the lower end of the shaft in any conventional-manner. This foot member is somewhat in the nature of a shell in the sense that it has an arcuate wall which is cut away at one side to provide free access thereto, and is provided with a bottom wall 3 disposed substantially at right angles to the hollow shaft l.' The said wall 3 is provided with slot 4 leading inwardly from one edge thereof for receiving the shank of a golf tee, designated generally as T, so that its head is held above the inner surface of said wall. The edges of the slot may be grooved or tapered to more readily receive the underside of the head of the tee.

The hollow shaft I serves as a guide for the shank 5 of a plunger device having the ball clamping head 6 at its lower end. The upper end 7 of the shank projects above the hollow shaft for finger or thumb engagement, and may conveniently be provided with an enlarged head or button 8, whose underside forms an abutment for one end of a coil spring 9 confined between said button and the upper end ill of the hollow shaft.

The ball clamping head 6 has an arcuate ball receiving seat Get on its bottom face while the upper end is provided with a socket for receiving the lower end of the plunger shank. The upper edge 6b of the socket abuts the underside of the collar 2a to serve as a limiting stop for the upward movement of the plunger under the influence of the spring 9. It will thus be seen that the effect of the spring 9 is to normally urge the shank 5 of the plunger upwardly and to hold the head 6 of the plunger in the upper portion of the foot or housing 2 to receive a golf ball. At the same time, the upper end of the shank 5 projects beyond the shaft I for a sufficient distance to enable longitudinal movement of the shank of the plunger under finger pressure to engage a golf ball as will presently appear.

When the device is to be used, a tee T may be placed in the slot 4 and the golf ball B centered upon the head of the tee. Upon finger pressure being applied to the plunger through the button 8, the plunger head 6 will descend toward the ball and hold the ball in the seat 6a to clamp the same to the tee, as shown in Figure 3. The device is then moved toward the ground at the selected location and with the ball constituting a coupling between the plunger and the tee, and downward force applied to the entire assembly will drive the tee into the ground. Finger pressure on the button 8 may then be released so that the cupped clamping head of the plunger will move clear of the ball. The entire device may then be moved in a lateral direction parallel to and rearwardly of the slot to disengage said slot 4 from the head of the tee, leaving the ball mounted on the tee and ready for driving.

The device may then be laid aside and carried in the golfbag until it is again necessary to be used in the same manner described above.

The device includes a minimum of parts and readily lends itself to established manufacturing practices. The shaft I may be made from a hollow tube, cut to appropriate length, and the foot or housing may be readily cast so that the collar 2a may readily be telescoped over the lower end of the shaft and secured in any conventional manner. The socket of the head 6 may conveniently receive the lower end of the plunger shank after the shank with its spring 9 assembled thereon has been placed in the hollow shaft. Thus, the entire device is capable of facile assembly, and in use has no parts which are likely to get out of order so that without deliberate mishandling, its longevity is assured.

I claim:

A golf ball teeing device, comprising, a hollow shaft, a housing carried by the lower end of the shaft and including a vertical wall portion opening laterally to one side of the shaft and a bottom wall spaced below the terminal portion of the shaft, said vertical wall being internally curved to conform to an arcuate part of the circumference of a golf ball, said bottom Wall having therein a slot to receive the shank of a golf tee, said slot being open at one end to permit insertion into and removal therefrom of said shank of a golf tee by relative lateral movement of the tee and said bottom wall, a plunger extending 'hrcugh the shaft and having at its lower end a golf ball engaging face, spring means tending constantly to elevate said plunger so as to normally hold said face spaced above said bottom wall of the housing to permit free insertion and .removal of a golf ball into and from the space between said face and the head of a golf tee disposed with its shank in said slot of the bottom Wall, means on said plunger adjacent to the top of said shaft for finger engagement to effect depression of said plunger to clamp a golf ball between the said face thereof and the head of a golf tee disposed in the slot of the bottom wall of the housing so that by downward movement of the entire device toward the ground a golf tee with a golf ball resting thereon may be driven into the ground, the ball being releasable by elevation of said plunger upon removal of downward pressure upon the latter and the device being laterally movable to effect its disengagement from the tee, said device being of a length to reach from the ground approximately to the waist of the user of the device to avoid any necessity of the user of the device stooping or bending over when employing the device to tee a ball.

VICTOR C. ARMSTRONG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,671,080 Merrick May 22, 1928 1,863,140 Mulvaney June 14, 1932 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 31,841 Sweden July 23, 1910 359,174 Great Britain Oct. 22, 1931 512,087 Germany Apr. 13, 1935 

